Home sales balloon 56% to 6,646 transactions in April

Mainland buyers snapped up posh homes, buoying luxury transactions growth to 44%.

Hong Kong’s heated property market appears to show no signs of slowing down as home sales ballooned 56% MoM to 6,646 transactions in April, according to a report from real estate consultant Knight Frank, as the lack of launches for major primary projects failed to dampen aggressive market takeup.

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The luxury residential market remained thriving amidst a sustained demand from wealthy Mainland buyers which buoyed transactions of flats worth $10 or above to surge 44% YoY MoM to 1,337 sold units. Secondary residential transactions continued to dominate home sales, resulting in a 2:8 ratio between primary and secondary sales in the first four months of 2018, compared with 3:7 in previous years, Knight Frank added.

The heated residential segment accounted for over three quarters (76.03%) of total property sales in April for a total consideration of $61.8b, according to a report from the Land Registry.

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Residential projects also dominated construction works last year after rising 1.4% YoY in nominal terms to a gross value of $66.1b as the Lam administration ramps up its building activities to plug the severe housing gap which has made Hong Kong the world's least affordable housing market for the eighth year in a row. 

Photo from Baycrest - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5